Something in the Night
by Chasing Liquor
Summary: - "You know, Rodney goes to visit him. Stands in front of the stasis pod and tells him all the latest news." McKeller, McKay-Carson friendship.


**Disclaimer**: MGM's got the keys to the city.

**Spoilers: **The Seed

**Description:** A potential look at the run-in Keller describes to Teyla in The Seed. McKay visits with Carson, prior to an interruption. This is borderline shameless fluff, really, and not surprisingly, McKeller.

**A/N**: More, more, more do I continue to pen. I'm always appreciative of feedback, so do me a favor and let me know what you think.

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**Something in the Night**

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McKay tapped his foot nervously, wringing his hands as he was prone to do when there was nothing in them. It was quiet now, so he'd proper solitude to think, but his thoughts weren't as interesting as he liked to believe they were when overwhelmed by the business of the day.

Carson's face, calm and half-obscured, seemed only to vaguely resemble the one he knew. Maybe it was the heavy-looking energy field in front of the doctor's still body, or maybe it was the fact that he was only _kind of _Carson. But regardless, he was close enough.

"So, ah… let's see, let's see…" McKay rolled his eyes up at the ceiling, probing his short-term memory momentarily, then snapping his fingers and looking back at Carson. "Oh! I hear Cadman's coming back." He paused, lifting his hand as if to stop his friend from speaking, though the man was obviously incapable. "I know what you're gonna say. I hate her, right? Wrong! I'm totally over that. Completely. I'm a rational adult, right?"

He paused, taking a look around the empty room, then glancing back at Carson.

"Don't answer that," he said dryly. "Anyway, she's not that bad. Pushed me into things with Katie, right? If she hadn't done that, I might not have… well, I wouldn't have gone out with her for so long. Of course, I also would've gone fishing with – "

McKay stopped abruptly, his mouth feeling dry. It was a regret not owed to the man to whom he was speaking.

He cleared his throat into his fisted hand, then spent a few seconds in cognitive recovery, digging through his brain for something else.

"Oh, um… Teyla's son is doing great. Totally healthy. She let me hold him today. She acted like she was worried I'd drop him, though. How insulting is that? I'm not _that_ clumsy. Matter of fact, I'm not clumsy at all." He paused as if allowing a space for Carson to agree with his assessment, but pressed on after a moment, "Kanaan and the other hybrid Athosians are back to normal too. Jennifer took care of it, almost immediately. It was pretty impressive."

McKay smiled a little.

"Of course, she gives _you_ all the credit. But that's just Jen being Jen. She's like that, you know." He glanced down at his shoes. "Not that you didn't – that it's not your – " He looked back at Carson. "Yeah, whatever. I'm trying to explain myself to a popsicle."

The scientist shoved his hands into his pockets, tired of trying to find something to do with them. Then he sighed.

"I wish you weren't in there, but I'm not too worried. Jennifer will figure out how to get you out of there. She's amazing, really. And by the way, I don't miss you being my doctor. You may be my friend, but you're still a sadistic psychopath when you have that white coat on. Not like her. You know she took blood the other day and it didn't hurt? Yeah, try topping that, Doctor Mangele."

McKay checked his watch.

Ten forty-five. He'd been there for at least half an hour.

"I should probably get going in a second. Going off world in about… eight hours. And I've still got some work I should do. You know, you're living a pretty posh life in there, all things considered. You get to stand there and sleep while I'm off cracking codes and shooting bad guys." His eyes lit up with excitement. "Which reminds me! I went out target-shooting with Sheppard yesterday – scored 75! Yeah, how do you like that? I believe your highest score was 60. Which is fine, if you're a doctor. But guys like me, we need to be sharp-shooters. Never know when Sheppard's gonna go and get himself knocked out and need a rescue. He's doing good, by the way, Sheppard is…"

The sound of a belt scraping ever so slightly against metal unceremoniously divorced him from his monologue, and he started at the noise and turned, unexpectedly looking across the room at Keller, who was leaning against the wall, smiling.

"Jennifer! I, uh – hey!" he greeted gracelessly.

"Wha'cha doin'?"

McKay, as if to defend an honor that was already hopelessly tarnished, darted his eyes about until they fell on the computer console just beside him.

"Oh – well, I'm just… checking the interface here. Making sure that it's… properly connected to the general system. It's a whole detailed and involved process, that you probably wouldn't understand. I won't bore you with it."

Keller thought to let it go, but she couldn't help herself, even though she knew it was the kind thing to do. There was just something fascinating about McKay in a conversational corner.

"Then you've got a problem," she said, gesturing to the console next to him, "because I don't think that one's turned on."

McKay blinked dumbly, surprised to see her contest the point, before he finally looked back down at the computer, which was unlit and dormant. She was, of course, right.

That's okay, he thought. Still good. Just act like you're messing around with it. And use some jargon. Lots of it.

"Yeah, yeah, that's right. It's turned off. I had to turn it off to run a diagnostic, but I was just about to turn it back on. So, I'll… do that right now."

She nodded, trying to hide her grin, but certain she couldn't.

McKay was so wrapped up in his shoddy ruse, though, that he didn't even notice, turning so that she could only see his profile as he pretended to key in some things on the inactive computer. After a few seconds, he glanced over at her with all of the false authority he could summon.

"Oh, yep. Just like I thought."

"What's the problem?" she asked, impressed at how serious she sounded.

"Well, it looks like the central converter's power is being siphoned off by the external power coupling. Yeah, this could take all night. Probably will, frankly."

He hoped that would be enough to chase her off, whether she believed him or she didn't. But it only seemed to strengthen her resolve, as she looked on him innocently.

"Maybe I can stay and help you out then."

"No!" he exclaimed, a little quickly and a little too desperately. "I mean, um, it's just… I'd hate to take up your time. You're such a busy person. I'm sure you – "

"Actually, I don't have anything to do."

"Well, it's late and – "

"I don't have to get up until eleven tomorrow."

"Nevertheless, you probably need to play catch-up. I'm sure you haven't been sleeping – "

"I've been sleeping great lately, actually."

"Come on!" he grumbled. "Now you're just making stuff up."

He looked so tired when he said that, and annoyed, that she began to take pity on him. Well, not pity, no – but sympathy certainly, the special kind she'd saved for him of late. Her mischievous smile softened into something else.

"Rodney?"

"What?" he asked with a loud, helpless sigh.

"You don't have to be embarrassed."

That took him aback. He stared at her blankly for a time, then fumbled for a response, but he was unable to string together the proper syllables.

"I think it's sweet you came to see him," she said, feeling affection for the confused and self-defeated look on his face.

McKay lowered his head a little bit, only barely looking at her.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Oh."

"And it's kind of cute you tried to lie about it, but we're really gonna need to work on your poker face."

"You mean you didn't believe me?"

Keller let out a tiny laugh.

"Rodney, a five year-old child wouldn't have believed you."

"If you knew the whole time, then why did you let me go on like that? And to think, I just got done talking you up to Carson."

She raised an eyebrow in interest, and said with a clear note of flirtation, "Did you now?"

McKay predictably reddened.

"Uh, well… just the… usual stuff. I mean, like, your bedside manner." He thought about that. "_Hospital_ bedside! Not the… other kind. Though I'm sure it's fine there too. Not that that's any of my business. Because it's not. So, yeah, I was just saying how you're great… at what you do. In a professional sense, of course."

She nodded with mock sincerity.

"Of course."

He cleared his throat uncomfortably, scraping one of his soles across the floor.

"Yeah. Yeah, so, um, I should probably get going here anyway. It's kind of late…"

"Me too. I was lying about getting up at eleven."

McKay breathed out something almost like a laugh and offered up a self-conscious half-smile, slowly crossing the room to the door, which she waited at for him.

He politely gestured for her to exit first, then followed her out. After a few seconds, he took a long breath and rediscovered her familiar scent, which had become known to him over the course of quick lunches and spontaneous dinners and his many trips to the infirmary. It was a confection of exotic flora and sterile chemicals, and in that sector of the mind which catalogues the vague memories of dreams, he was certain he found some proof of the scent invading his sleep.

"Hey, ah… can I walk you back?" he asked, thinking he sounded too hopeful.

But she just nodded and smiled. She was _always_ smiling at him. And then she looped her arm through his and leaned against him a little, as if that was just the way it was supposed to be.

He took the long way. If she noticed, she didn't say.

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**FIN**

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End file.
